Giving generously can cause anxiety - after all, we think, if we give away too freely, what if we don’t have enough? But in Corinthians, Paul is trying to tell us that the grace of God is more precious than any possession we can have. And when we give generously, we reflect the very nature of God.

God doesn’t sow sparingly, he sows bountifully. That’s the very nature of God, to give abundantly.

2 Corinthians 9:6-15

fmhouston.com

Lance looks into the Parable of the Talents, and asks the question - what was it that the third servant actually did wrong?

When it comes to the Parable of the Talents, burying your talent isn’t just a failure to invest. It’s hiding your light under a bushel.

Matthew 25:14-30

fmhouston.com

In the wake of Hurricane Harvey, the church Lance was serving in decided to open its doors to people needing shelter, despite not being in any way set up to take in people - because they felt that this was what God was leading them towards.

In today’s Scripture, the story of the feeding of the five thousand, we find a similar expression of faith.

“It is tempting to look at what we have as individuals and see scarcity.”

Lance reminds us that even though we may not have enough by ourselves, faith is the act of putting it forward anyway, knowing that God will make up for all that we lack.

Matthew 14:13-21

fmhouston.com

At the Wedding in Cana, Lance shows how Mary asked Jesus for help, and that the ask mattered.

Throughout the gospels, ordinary gifts were brought to Jesus by ordinary people, and something miraculous happened as a result.

John 2:1-11

fmhouston.com

Kathrin Meier joins Lance on NIA Sunday to talk about the ministry Neighbors In Action is doing in Port Houston, the way that the people of Port Houston have made that ministry their own, and how we tend to dehumanize people on the other side of the tracks - in both directions.

“We cannot have a relationship with Christ, the head of the body, if we do not have a relationship with the body himself.”

fmhouston.com

Amanda looks at a passage from Romans to consider how we are perhaps not yet living in the fullness of Christ.

She remembers a girl hassling her young daughter that made her go into Mama Bear mode - but the story ended up being something other than what she expected.

How do we live with hope among all the groaning?

It’s not just us. It is all of creation groaning under the weight of this brokenness.

Romans 8:18-28

fmhouston.com

In today’s message, Lance talks about the woman who touched the hem of Jesus’ garment so that she could be healed. But even though her physical ailment was cured, Jesus knew that there was more that needed healing.

The woman was suffering from a “poverty of being.” And that was something that needed more than a physical change in order to cure.

Mark 5:25-34

fmhouston.com

This month’s series comes from a book called When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty without Hurting the Poor… and Yourself. It’s a book about changing our whole mentality on missions, as we recognize the hurt we can do when we try to help in the wrong ways.

We need to develop a new paradigm for missions - recognize that when we go into communities, we do not bring God with us. God is already there.

Ephesians 3:14-21

fmhouston.com

Acts 17 is one of Lance’s favorite chapters in Acts, and that’s because there’s a lot going on beneath the text. Paul’s heart is grieved for the world around him. 

What is breaking your heart in the world around us?

The world is open to the Word of God, but who is going to teach them the resurrection if not us?

Acts 17:16-34

fmhouston.com